My CableCARDs are installed and working! Unfortunately, it took a little over two hours, thanks to two bad cards and the installer's wireless data card crapping out.

Installation in slot 1 seemed to go fine, so he moved on to slot 2, which didn't like the first card, but the second worked fine. After having the dispatcher send hits to the cards, card 2 sprang to life and started showing video. Card 1 would only show the basic channels. I checked card 2, and it wasn't showing HD channels, but everything else was working fine. He had them fix the provisioning on my account and after a few minutes the HD channels started coming in on card 2.

Card 1, on the other hand, was a tough nut to crack. It would not, even after sending a reinitialize/cold hit/whatever and rebooting the TiVo change status from MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY. After a while, he swapped out the card again, (this time having to call in the hit, thanks to the aforementioned laptop problems), and within 5 minutes everything was gravy.

I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the dispatcher entered the CableCARD info and sent the hit..it took less than 5 minutes.

The moral of the story is that if at first the CableCARDs don't work, swap, swap again. You'll eventually find one that works.

They use Motorola cards, btw.

P.S. The best part is that I didn't have to mess with my season passes, which had previously been configured to record OTA.

I'm about to leave work early again for my 3rd visit by Cox OKC to install my new S3. So far no one has ever seen, much less, installed a S3. I do recognize the real issue is with the "dispatch" person who is setting up the box back at the facility.

At this point I have what appears to be Card 1 authorized and ready to go with no observed issues as presented on the CableCard installation screens. However, it doesn't work.

Card 2 is another story. It's authorized but not ready on a couple of parameters.

Tivo tech support tells me I should receive all of the intended channels on a correctly set up card if it is working, even if the other card has issues.

I receive about a forth of the channels due, none of which are encrypted premium channels. Always the same channels on both cards no matter what has been done by Cox in working this issue.

Tivo TS tells me this is probably because Cox hasn't "packaged" the required channels correctly and I'm just receiving what's been incorrectly set up.

Further research into the EMM and ECM terms shown on the CableCard screens may confirm this. These are the basic messages which must be sent by Cox to provide encryption on the card. Status on the cards shows these to be "0" in some cases. I'm thinking the system cannot work if one or both of these terms are listed as "0" on a given card. Can someone confirm if this understanding is correct?

If so I can substantiate the programming by Cox to be the issue and defend suggestions it is my Tivo which may have an issue.

Cox came prepared last night with a sack full of new cards. The tech removed the two which had been previously installed and started fresh with new cards. After about an hour he determined one of the cards was bad and replaced it.

The second card was installed before the first was completely set up but this didn't appear to be an issue even though Tivo advises against it.

The CP screens indicated Authorization was approved on both but counts were "zero" on the EMM and ECM lines. The tech called dispatch and tracked down someone he knew (not simple because the computer communication system was down) and he checked the "balance" and other particulars and issued a multitude of hits.

The EMM count climbed to 37 but no channels would come in other than the non-encrypted basics and pass throughs. ECM remained at zero. Based on this forum, I knew zero counts on either the EMM or ECM lines were a problem. Additional work by the dispatcher raised the EMM to 38 and counts begin to appear on the ECM line as well. Channel test revealed channels were beginning to be added. After about 3-5 minutes all of the anticipated channels were there. The tech and dispatcher repeated this on the previously "approved" second card with the same results.

At the conclusion with all working as expected, the two CP screens were not identical in their status but all appeared to be okay. Guided set up went without an issue and... "Houston, we have Tivo".

Fernando, our Cox Tech, was key to this success. I had basically blew off trying to proceed when we discovered communications was down at dispatch. Fernando persisted with phone efforts and found a backdoor to finally reach someone he knew.

Fernando, as was the case with both of his predecessors, had not been trained or had opportunity to experience any significant Tivo install activity. To my amazement, none of the Cox Techs had been educated on the significance of the ECM and EMM fields on CableCard installation. This knowledge made all the difference in how things went. Without knowing these counts could not be zero and the system function, he was able to persuade dispatch to keep trying when they thought all was well. I was impressed with Fernando's persistence and he was glad to learn about EMM and ECM fields.

This does leave me with a very disturbing question... why would Cox not take a couple of minutes to explain something as vital as the ECM/EMM fields to people who have the technical responsibility for installing CableCards. I might add dispatch didn't seem to have this understanding either.

Anyway, all appears well at the moment.... Thanks Fernando! (and this forum)

I have Cox service in Las Vegas and have the MLB Extra Innings package...problem is that it does not work on my S3 cable cards. I've spoken with several representatives because most have no clue what's going on...some say I cannot get the package on the cable cards and some say it should be able to work.

Anyone have a similar experience or is there anybody out there with Cox in LV with the MLB EI package working on their cable cards? Thanks.

I had Cox NE (CT/RI) out yesterday. As I suspected as I was hanging up with the person who took the order, the tech only had 1 card with him, fortunately his coworkers in the area supported him (one even came by to help).

I got 3 cards, two in the S3 and one in the TV (for watching a game while the other two tuners are recording shows). The initial hit didn't quite work, the second one worked on card 2 and the TV and then replacing card 1 got it going too. All said and done it was about 2 hrs 15 mins (perhaps 30-45 waiting for more cards to arrive) and now I have everything working just fine!

(Now to see what the bill is for 3 cards vs just 1, not the extra $1.99 ea, but if there's an extra "Digital Gateway" charge for each )

I had Cox NE (CT/RI) out yesterday. As I suspected as I was hanging up with the person who took the order, the tech only had 1 card with him, fortunately his coworkers in the area supported him (one even came by to help).

I got 3 cards, two in the S3 and one in the TV (for watching a game while the other two tuners are recording shows). The initial hit didn't quite work, the second one worked on card 2 and the TV and then replacing card 1 got it going too. All said and done it was about 2 hrs 15 mins (perhaps 30-45 waiting for more cards to arrive) and now I have everything working just fine!

(Now to see what the bill is for 3 cards vs just 1, not the extra $1.99 ea, but if there's an extra "Digital Gateway" charge for each )

Where do you see the Digital Gateway charge? On mine I see DIGITAL CABLE SERVICE above each cableCARD.

We just got our Series3 installed yesterday. The install was painless, but I had to reassure the sales person over the phone that I needed 2 cable cards and didn't need an HD DVR from them.

Cox quoted me $70 per card for the install. I had been trading emails with them over the weekend to find out exactly how much (including tax) it would cost for me to switch from DirecTV to Cox for HD. They had never mentioned the installation fees. When I placed my order online there was no option to order two cable cards so I called in and thats when I was told that it would cost $70 per card. I told them no thank you.

After a quick research trip to these forums I found folks in VA, CA and AZ had been charged $30 for the install. When Cox called me back and I told them that they lowered it to $15 per card.

The day of the install I got a Cox HD DVR delievered by UPS, I had the installer take it back.

The install itself took about 15 minutes from the time I handed the guy the cablecard instruction sheet that came with my Series3 to the time he asked if he could keep it

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Cox guy is out today to do the install, he's been here for 2 hours now and they still aren't working. I'm getting all basic channels, basic HD channels, but not the encrypted HD Channels. He's had them make sure they are sending the right signal to the cards. He also made sure they showed the same card in slot one that he saw in slot one, that didn't resolve the problem. Both cards are acting the same way. I was able to confirm through the tivo settings that the Tivo is receiving a signal on those channels, but not the channel itself. Any suggestions?

I've had trouble with my regular premiums with Cox, but no problems with the HD channels.
Did you have a cable box they were originally tied to? I know they had to remove them from my cable box then re-assign them to the cable cards.

COX Fairfax VA, I just received my Series 3 and called them to come trade in my HD cable box for 2 cable cards. They woman I spoke to was VERY confusing, but she said that it would cost me $2 LESS per month to have 2 cablecards w/ HD service vs. 1 HD box. When I asked for a pricing breakdown she didn't provide one (wtf?) Also, service fee was $30 per card, and I could not negotiate it lower.

But, the rep had heard of the TiVo S3 before, put a note in the report for the truck guy that he was installing 2 cablecards in a TiVo, and the guy is going to come tomorrow during a 2 hour time window. So far this sounds promising, I'll update with what really happens.

COX Fairfax VA, I just received my Series 3 and called them to come trade in my HD cable box for 2 cable cards. They woman I spoke to was VERY confusing, but she said that it would cost me $2 LESS per month to have 2 cablecards w/ HD service vs. 1 HD box. When I asked for a pricing breakdown she didn't provide one (wtf?) Also, service fee was $30 per card, and I could not negotiate it lower.

But, the rep had heard of the TiVo S3 before, put a note in the report for the truck guy that he was installing 2 cablecards in a TiVo, and the guy is going to come tomorrow during a 2 hour time window. So far this sounds promising, I'll update with what really happens.

Installers (two) came on time! with 4 cable cards in hand. I thought, sweet, they brought backups. Turns out they've done a few TiVo S3s before. The installer then gave me this info nugget:

Cox Cable cards have a "born-on" date if you will, a little sticker saying when they went into service. If the date is 12-2006 or later, the cableCARD will take, no problem. If the date is earler than that, they need a firmware upgrade which comes over the cable, and may or may not work. Meaning, most of the time, it will not work.

So, my installer had 4 cards, 1 with a 2007 date, 2 with a 2005 date, and 1 with a 2004 date. (I didn't know they had cableCARD in 2004!) He tried the 2007 card in Slot1, it was recognized in about 10 seconds, wrote down the CC# and ID#, called it in, all channels were working in about 1 minute. Perfect.

Then he says... OK, now the hard part. Tried the other cards, with no luck. Let 1 of them wait in the "updating..." screen for over an hour, still nothing. He called to other installers in the area, and 1 of them had another 2007 model cableCARD on his truck. The other installer came by, popped in his 2007 card, and it took just like the first one did. The whole service call took 3 hours. The first card was working in the first 5 minutes, then 2hours 50 minutes of down time, then 5 minutes to get the 2nd 2007 model card to work. They were happy to be gone.

So, I hope this helps someone else. When making your service request, not only tell them its for a TiVo S3 (that did seem to help make my call easier, they knew what to expect) but also request that they bring the most recent cableCARDs they can find in their warehouse.

Thatís interesting. The CableCARDs that Cox OKC installed in my S3 in early January were rebuilt SA cards, so itís obvious that the firmware they had was from 2006, at the latest. Still the two cards Cox installed have been working for more than five months. It looks as if I got lucky.

Your tip on asking them to ensure to bring multiple ones is a good one. I'm in VA too and just had my new S3 cable cards installed today by COX. Unfortunately I read this thread as they were futzing around with trying to get the 2nd one to work. They only brought 2 and they thought that they were only installing 1...(even though I told them I needed 2 and it was for a Tivo when I ordered the service). They need to come back tomorrow with a bunch of them to test to get ones to work. I told him to bring one after 12/2006 and he said "I'll bring as many as I can"...

Strange thing is I do get a couple of channels on the 2nd tuner - a PPV preview channel and a "Cox" channel (channel 95 in VA) that just has a the name Cox on it.

Got 2 cards installed earlier this month, got rid of their HD non DVR box. I just got the bill for this month and here's what changed.

+ $3.50 : Cox digital cable service: Before : $17, after, $20.50. (it also shows the quantity going from 2 to 3, but the $ column just lists the total. So I don't know what they're charging for each device (I have two cable cards and a SD cablebox now)).

/the install took about 30 minutes, 10 minutes of that was him being on hold with the home office to get the cards authenticated. Didn't seem that long though since we were having a discussion about tivos and gaming consoles.

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1) When completed, the tivo must appear to be stock.

I've been reading the S3 threads for a long time, especially the Cox cable threads. My wife and I have been wanting another Tivo for some time, but I've been dreading the cable card install. When the S3 had the rebate before Father's Day, we finally decided to take the plunge.

Following the advice of several posters, I hooked up the S3 to a high def antenna after delivery and ran guided setup. I forced several connections to Tivo over a couple of days and got the latest software version. Then I called Cox, informed them I wanted an EXPERIENCED technician to connect the cable cards and anticipated the worst.

The tech showed up an hour early, informed me he was one of only two guys in the department that knew exactly how to set up an S3, and went to work. He certainly seemed to know what he was doing. Less than an hour later, tivo was up and working with the new premium channels I ordered at the same time as the install. He stayed through a new guided setup, made some adjustments, and even moved my S3 to the same spot where the Cox dvr was at.

I couldn't have asked for a nicer tech. It's been 3 days and NO problems. Just thought I'd post some good news for others to read!

Excellent, sorbok! Hopefully they won't charge you for two cablecard installs and an extra outlet install as they did for me!

I hope not also! They did originally quote me $60 (30 ea) for the truck roll but I told the phone tech I had been "quoted $45 previously" (based on other posts here). He put me on hold for a minute and came back to say I was right and made the adjustment. Now of course I'll have to wait for the next bill...

Cox installers in Chandler, AZ (near Phoenix) brought three Scientific Atlanta cablecards, all of which were invalid according to the error message that popped up on the Tivo. My Tivo was working fine with a pair of Motorola cards from Comcast in Indianapolis.

They're claiming that they haven't successfully installed any Series 3 units and that they're waiting on information from Tivo. Is there anybody on Cox in or near Chandler, AZ who has their Series 3 up and running with cablecards? Is this an issue with a known workaround, like maybe they have all their cards programmed wrong and they need to be reflashed?

Just had CableCards installed in my second Tivo S3 here in Cox, Orange County, CA. This time installation was an absolute breeze with no glitches at all and the installer was in and out in less than 30 minutes. This compared to a 3.5 hour install with many issues the first time (back in November 2007). So looks like Cox OC has their act together for CC installs for Tivos and I think Tivo also improved things to make it much easier as well. It is no longer an intimidating experience that one has to go through. Even on billing front Cox OC now only charges for a single CC install instead of 2 like they tried to do last time. I will still get charged monthly for 2 additional outlets ($1.49 each) along with 2 CC charges ($1.99 each) but that I can live with.

I'm not in chandler but I'm on the same Cox system. It could be something specific to your area, but I doubt it.

Yeah, you could tell from the get-go that he wasn't a fan of the cablecards. To be fair, he's probably been burned by lengthy installs more than a few times. He was saying things like "yeah, you know you're gonna be behind schedule when you see there's a cablecard install on your list" and "these things are nothing but trouble. I can't understand why anyone would ever want one."

But it was his manager that was telling me they have a long list of Series 3 Tivos that have never successfully worked with a cablecard, some of which have had as many as 50 different cards tested.

It's baffling why it's so difficult for them out here. My first install back in Indiana was pretty smooth-- took maybe 20 minutes, nearly all of which was hold time while the installer called the office.

They came back today, and one of the three they brought this time worked. All of the non-working cards were dated 2007. The one that worked had a 2005 date. They're digging around in the warehouse for more old cards to try to get my second tuner up and running.

Well, Cox RI came out Tuesday to install digital cable and the cable cards. Knew I was in trouble when I found the tech installing splitters on my OTA antenna feed instead of the cable coax... Anyway, he puts the first cablecard in, and even though I told him 5 times and he read the Tivo instructions he starts to plug the second one in before even calling for the first activation. First card doesn't initialize. I checked the wiring and he'd jumpered from the RF out on the Cox DVR I wanted for the interactive and VOD stuff to the input of the Tivo. I suggested that might be screwing up the key exchange with the card...no, no, we do it like this all the time. Ayup. About an hour later, he figures what the heck and puts a splitter in to feed the Tivo directly. Shazaam, card one inits and looks like I have channels. Card 2 inits in about 5 minutes and he leaves.

Finish guided setup, and started to play. Everything seems fine until I come across a channel that worked once and now doesn't display. Check each card separately and it turns out card #1 doesn't have the same channels as card #2. Call COX. First time, get a rep who seems to know what he's talking about. Reinits card, no difference. Has me swap cards and wait while it pairs and he inits them again. Problem follows card. I try to explain that it's his programming, not the card, but he insists it is a hardware problem and says he'll schedule a call. Fine. Hang up and call back in. This time, I get a rep without a clue. She tells me, oh, just wait...it takes time to get the full subscription. Ok, fine. BS, but I hang up anyway. Now it's almost midnight. Figure, what the heck, play some more CSR roulette. BINGO!!! I get a guy who actually understands what I'm telling him. Puts me on hold for 5 minutes while he reset the subscriptions on both cards and ran some comparison to ensure they were equivalent. Cold inits them both and up and running by 12:15AM.

Next battle is to get Cox to wave the installation fee since, in reality I self-installed these cards. That ought to be a fun phone call!!